Valve Introduces Steam Machines, Opens Beta Registration

On Wednesday, Valve announced its second phase in the attempt to take over your living room with its Steam Machines beta program.

Steam Machines are new bits of hardware running the new SteamOS announced earlier this week. Rather than a singular design, the Steam Machines will be offered in a variety of customizable packages, giving you the choice in what hardware package makes the most sense for you.

"While these products are still in development, we need your help," Valve said. "As always, we believe the best way to ensure that the right products are getting made is to let people try them out and then make changes as we go. We have designed a high-performance prototype that’s optimized for gaming, for the living room, and for Steam. Of course, it’s also completely upgradable and open."

Valve will be offering a beta program where it will ship 300 of these Steam Machines to participants. Steam users have an opportunity to make themselves eligible by fulfilling a series of requests, and those that complete all objectives will be added to the pool of prospective candidates. The registration process ends on Oct. 25, but you've got plenty of time to try and join if you aren't already a Steam user.

Valve expects the actual retail versions of these Steam Machines to be available in 2014, with multiple manufacturers already on board. There are no details on the specs of the hardware, but Valve promised to make those details available soon. You can learn more about the Steam Machines over on the official page.

It's a curious time for Valve to jump into the fray, but we're excited about the possibilities. Another announcement is set for this Friday. With SteamOS and now Steam Machines revealed, what Valve has remaining to offer is anybody's guess.